Nikon Photo Critique: Rescue on a Grey Day at the Beach

Nikon FM2, Nikkor 35mm f2, Tri-X, I let the lab do the processing.

Hope I didnt break too many rules by linking it this way:

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?

topic_id=1481&msg_id=003nGX&photo_id=1021146&photo_sel_index=0"> to

reach photo in my folder here on photo.net</a>

 

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Any comments welcome. Regards Bill Gibson

Nice shot, very typical 35mm point-of-view. I like what you did with the perspective. It could be the scan or my monitor, but the mid to far focus seems a little soft. How does the print look?

 

I would have been tempted to also try the same shot with a long focal length to compress the distance between the front and the pier. There looks like there are people on the end and I like the human element in most shots and a long lens would have brought them in. But then again, I probably would have been there with my 35/2 too! I make myself use one lens at a time almost always.

 

(Brave of you to trust a lab with B&W, especially tri-x. I gave that up after a try or two and now develop my tri-x at home.)

actually there was no one at the end of the dock, just some larger pipes....there was just a lifeguard and she didnt seem too intrigued by camera outing. I am looking into developing my own bw, but maybe just the negs to start.... thanks for the comments. I think the softness is from the scanner.... I need to work on my technique with that as well.

That's all I'm doing now - developing the film at home. I tried a few rolls of Tri-X in HC-110 1:63 and liked the results very much. I am now going through a calibration routine to find my optimal E.I.

 

My next step, in a few months or so, is printing the negs myself.

 

I tried the chromogenic B&W's from Kodak, 400CN, B&W 400, you know, the ones that develop in C41 at your local 1-hr-photo, but did not like the results. Too smooth for me, pudding-like tonality. Did not "look" like a B&W to me. Guess I like a little grain and sharpness.

I like the way the pier in the background echos the board in the foreground, and the triangular shape that's formed between them by the rope. I also like how it says "rescue" on the board - that really makes the shot, in my view. And the way the line begins up front and then takes you out to the distant flat horizon - as though what promises to rescue you is what will take you over the edge - is frankly frightening. Reminds me of some of Ralph Gibson's work.

Btw, any relation?

relation to Ralph Gibson? no. And I am not the scifi writer either. That question has come up fairly frequently.